672 pages of NEAT. Combining Tokyo, Everywhere & Nowhere, and Paris issues into one bundle. Ships together, a 2.5kg block (5.5lbs) of lithographically printed beauty. Issues Three, Four and Five together.
Tokyo, Everywhere & Nowhere, Paris.
Three, Four, Five.
Guy Hollingworth
Guy Hollingworth is an English barrister, conjurer, author and lecturer. And a gentleman. As a conjurer he is known for his painstaking adeptness, and skilful performances of card magic. It cannot be overstated: his elegant and effortless sleight of hand with cards has been of immeasurable influence on every single one of our contributors.
Helder Guimarães
Helder Guimarães is a Portuguese performer, magician, and storyteller. Known for his unique approach of sleight-of-hand magic and storytelling, Helder's work has been featured at the Kennedy Center, TED Talks, Talks at Google and Off-Broadway productions. The Los Angeles Times stated "he seems remarkably sincere and trustworthy for a man committed to deception,"[2] and The New York Times recognized him as "a Master of Illusions". He spoke with us for Issue Four of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Liu Bolin
Liu Bolin is a Chinese performance artist and photographer known for using chameleon-like methods to immerse himself in environments, earning him the nickname “The Invisible Man.” The artist’s Hiding in the City series camouflages Liu by way of paint, a “silent protest” aimed at the Chinese government’s policies in the years since the Cultural Revolution. “Disappearing is not the main point of my work," Liu has said. “It's just the method I use to pass on a message. It's my way to convey all the anxiety I feel for human beings.” He contributed a number of his photographs to THE NEAT REVIEW Issue Four: Everywhere & Nowhere.
Dennis Kim
Dennis Kim is a phenomenal underground card magician. His magic is very technical and quite difficult, but in his hands it is sublime. New York magician Tony Chang has been heard saying "I pass the torch to Dennis" in honour of Dennis' fervour, zeal and passion for sleight of hand with playing cards. High praise indeed, and wholly warranted.
Brad Fulton
Texas photographer and card vendor Brad Fulton photographed his friends Dan & Dave Buck in California in the late 90's, and we published a book of his photography, SPLAY.
Pierric Tenthorey
Pierric Tenthorey is a Franco-Swiss actor, director, magician and author born in Vevey in 1981. As an author, he has written and directed six short films, five music videos, a novel and a collection of short stories, as well as eight plays and shows. His silent show, "Homme encadré sur fond blanc", a blend of humor and visual magic, has been performed nearly 200 times in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. As a magician, he has performed and lectured all over the world (Las Vegas, Hollywood at the legendary Magic Castle, London, Busan, Hamburg, etc…), as well as on television and radio (Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde) and numerous RTS radio and TV programs. In 2015, he received the highest distinction in the art of magic, the title of World Champion. (Grand Prix in Close-up magic at FISM in Rimini).
Dr Will Houstoun
Will Houstoun has a PhD in the history of magical education, supervised by Dame Marina Warner, and is a winner of the European Magic Championships. He holds a Literary Fellowship with the Academy of Magical Arts in Los Angeles and a Research Fellowship with the Victoria & Albert Museum Research Institute. His current research interests lie in exploring the ways in which the skill and approach of the conjurer can be utilised in an educational context. He was guest editor of Issue Four and contributed linocut artworks for our publication "Reality is Magic".
Shawn Desouza-Coelho
We published Shawn DeSouza-Coelho's "Magic as Medium" as an introduction to linguistics, semiotics, phenomenology and the meaning of art, all through the lens of magic and theatre. Shawn's writing in this book explores the space between the ideal and the real. It prods at the moment of astonishment. Citing a vast compilation of work from magicians such as Paul Harris, Eugene Burger, Max Maven and Derek DelGaudio, Shawn dissects the writings of philosophy giants Saussure and Lacan to Barthes and Heidegger, and considers their works alongside and amidst magic.
Bob Gill
Bob Gill wrote a playful article for Issue Four of THE NEAT REVIEW attempting to define 'magic' — a mighty task indeed. Beginning in communications and the worlds of advertising, PR and events agencies, Bob was working closely with UK magician Wayne Dobson to collate an exhaustive trilogy which will comprise Wayne's fabulous legacy.
Manu Jo
Manu runs a chocolate factory in the South of France. He's also a fantastic card magician. We met with him in Paris and he shared an interchange-based plot for table work.
Yoann Fontyn
Yoann Fontyn founded "Magical Sleight", a French collective of innovative card magicians known for unique, visual, and challenging sleight-of-hand, rising to popularity through their download releases from Yoann himself, along with Father Alex and Manu Jo.
Tomoya Horiki
Tomoya Horiki is a highly respected Japanese magician, known as an "underground legend," particularly for his masterful coin magic, impeccable sleight-of-hand, devious methods, and unique philosophy. We spoke with him for Issue Three: TOKYO, in 2020.
Takuma Suzu
With over two decades in the automotive and fashion industries, Takuma Suzu has worked with Bugatti, Barbour, Moncler, Mackintosh and Woolrich to bring their brands to Japan. Born in Tokyo, where he lives today, Takuma read English literature at university, including a year studying abroad in Durham, in the UK. He loves rice pudding and describes himself as "pure Japanese but kind of an English old fart."
Takeshi Taniguchi
Takeshi Taniguchi is a highly proficient card magician from Japan. He co-runs The Impossible Co. in Osaka with Ben Daggers and Ponta The Smith.
Shimpei Katsuragawa
Founder of magic studio La Campanella, in Nagoya, and former FISM judge, Shimpei Katsuragawa studied music at university, and taught music before becoming a professional magician. He now gives shows and holds classes at La Campanella, and his art is a confluence of music and magic.
Ponta The Smith
Ponta the Smith is known as one of the world’s foremost coin magicians. In 2009 he released Sick, which was to leave a lasting impact on the world of coin magic. Ponta is not just a coin technician though – he is passionate about all facets of magic, from sleights and routines to theory and presentation. He co-runs The Impossible Co. in Osaka with Ben Daggers and Takeshi Taniguchi.
Kyohei Tatsukawa
Kyohei was responsible for the first Japanese translation of S.W. Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table book, and he contributed a multiple card shift to the third issue of THE NEAT REVIEW. We also collaborated with him and Tomoya Horiki (pictured above, right) to produce the Second Edition of The Expert at the Card Table, which has since received wide circulation within Japan.
Kez Dearmer
Kez Dearmer is a painter, illustrator and 3D visualisation artist living and working in London. His writing, photography and illustrations feature heavily throughout the REVIEW and our books, and he co-created the DEARMERS playing cards with Alexander Hansford. Kez has been chief illustrator at THE NEAT REVIEW since its inception, and he is to thank for why any of the publications even exist.
Hide Yamamoto
Hide Yamamoto is a renowned magician from Japan, famous for his intimate, storytelling magic shows at his "Half Moon" bar in Tokyo. His performances blend staggering sleight-of-hand with personal Japanese stories, engaging international audiences. His magic is described as energetic and highly personal, making him a must-see in the Tokyo magic scene for those seeking authentic, close-up magic.
Father Alex
Father Alex has lived in Paris for 26 years. He is now about 50. Unless you’re quite familiar with the passion project of one Yoann Fontyn from the early 2010’s, “Magical Sleight,” or unless you’ve visited The Session Convention in England, or unless you pride yourself in taking a keen interest in the Parisian magic scene, it’s likely you won’t have heard before of Father Alex. Alex has been a priest for almost 20 years, and has loved magic since he was a child. He is interested chiefly in gambling sleight of hand, including methods of mucks, cops, palms, dice switches, traditional street games such as the three shell game, and the techniques that can be secretly employed in classic gambling games to rig play to the advantage of the mechanic. He is quick to point out to us, though, that his interest extends only to the point of curiosity; he would never actually gamble, let alone cheat.
Cyril Takayama
Considered to be one of the earliest pioneers of “street magic” and admired for his compelling storytelling, Cyril Takayama has starred in 16 primetime television specials and two international television series reaching viewers in over 26 countries, and has traveled extensively sharing his own personal brand of magic with the world.
Catarina Marques
Catarina Marques is creative director and founder of Via Essenza, and her photography features with Helder Guimarães' article in Issue Four of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Bradley Hodgins
Bradley Hodgins is a gigging magician in London. His magic is very fooling, employing a blend of old and rare methods with modern sleights, that when combined with his unassuming way of handling cards, make for unforgettable performances. Along with renowned mentalist Chris Rawlins, he has founded the highly sought after magic publication 'Card Games'.
Ben Daggers
Ben Daggers hails from London, England, and has made waves on the Japanese magic scene with highly original presentations and routines. Ben is responsible for editing and narrating of all Japanese content on The Impossible Co.'s website, ensuring that nothing is lost in translation. He co-runs The Impossible Co. in Osaka with Takeshi Taniguchi and Ponta The Smith.
Bébel
Bébel is one of the best close-up card magicians in the world. We conducted our interview with him in Pigalle, Paris, where he shared his unique philosophies on street performing & sleight-of-hand.
Arthur Chavaudret
Arthur Chavaudret is a staggering presence. He is, I believe, the best close-up magician in the world. Born in 1989, Arthur discovered his passion at the age of nine: magic. After training in contemporary magic at the CNAC in Châlons-en-Champagne, he now explores both the creation and the definition of magic. What does magic depend on? What makes something seem magical? To broaden his horizons, Arthur collaborates with numerous artists. He has served as an outside eye for Yann Frisch on the productions BALTASS and LE PARADOXE DE GEORGES, and for Jean-Christophe Dollé on HANDBALL and JE VOLE. He was also a magic advisor for David Blaine on the TV show BEYOND MAGIC in Los Angeles in 2016, and in 2018, a magic consultant for the Comédie-Française on the production of FAUST by Valentine Losseau and Raphaël Navarro.
Dr Alice Pailhès
Dr Alice Pailhès’ research has pioneered the scientific study of magicians’ mind control techniques — subtle ways to influence choices without people realising it. Her work has been published in top-tier journals such as PNAS, JEP: General, and Trends in Cognitive Sciences, and featured in TED, BBC, The Financial Times, and WIRED. Her upcoming book "The Psychology of Magic and The Art of Being Fooled" will be released through MIT Press in 2026. We spoke with her for our fifth issue of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Alexander Hansford
Alexander Hansford founded THE NEAT REVIEW in 2019, after printing a string of limited-run artist books to accompany talks he was giving to magicians worldwide. Across a 14-country lecture tour, from Vienna & Sydney to Beirut & Los Angeles, his books were met with a unique reverence by the magic community. Alexander's long-running collaboration with Derren Brown spans Derren's live theatre shows, including Olivier Award-winning “Underground,” “Secret” and “Showman,” to consulting on the card magic pieces for Derren's “Only Human,” which comes to London’s West-End in late-2026.
Akira Fujii
Japanese magician Akira Fujii is world renowned for his invisible sleight of hand, notably the "Classic Pass", a notoriously difficult move to perform. He has had numerous appearances on Japanese television, and released many publications to the magic community.